The present invention relates to a device for supplying water to pets, and more particularly to a shield for protecting a watering device from the animal that it serves.
Animals that are kept in cages, such as pets or laboratory animals, are sustained by food and water provided in containers that are typically secured to the cage wall. In recent years animal watering devices have been adopted that include an inverted bottle having a delivery tube and a valve to permit water delivery upon demand by the animal. Furthermore, glass bottles have been replaced by less expensive, non-breakable plastic bottles and containers. Animal cages usually comprise wire enclosures, and such assemblies are generally secured to the cage wall by simple wire fasteners or bails. These devices permit the animal to receive water whenever required, and are easily serviced, cleaned, and refilled.
It has been observed that caged small animals, such as rats, hamsters, gerbils, or rabbits, for example, tend to exhibit typical rodent behavior and gnaw and chew on whatever objects are accessible. Larger caged animals will also gnaw and chew on available objects due to lack of exercise and boredom. Plastic water bottles are susceptible to damage from chewing and gnawing, because of the softness of the material. Such damage can be significant in large laboratory installations. Water bottles formed of glass or metal are gnaw resistant, but are expensive because of the cost of materials and fabrication and/or the need for careful handling to avoid breakage.
One solution to this problem is to provide a metal shield or guard in conjunction with a water bottle formed of soft, inexpensive plastic or the like. The guard is interposed between the bottle and the animal to block access to the bottle and prevent damage to the bottle due to gnawing. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,787,337 describes a water bottle guard comprised of a rectangular metal enclosure that surrounds the bottle on all sides, and provides a bottom opening from which the water delivery tube extends toward the cage wall. In this construction the guard also supports the bottle, and the guard must be assembled to the bottle as the bottle is hung from the wire cage wall. Consequently, the guard must be removed from the cage wall in order to remove, clean, service, and refill the bottle. There is extra labor and time involved in the assembly and disassembly of the bottle and guard, which can become a significant cost factor in large laboratory installations.
Another solution to the gnawing problem, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,794,880, generally involves suspending the bottle within the cage in pendulum fashion, so that the animal cannot apply sufficient lateral force to the bottle to successfully bite tile smooth contours of tile bottle. However, the suspended bottle must be hung within the cage from the upper wall, thus requiring that the cage be opened to service and refill the bottle. Whenever an animal cage is opened, there is the potential for escape or injury to the animal.
Thus the prior art lacks a cost-effective solution to the problem of providing water to a caged animal while preventing damage to the watering device by animal biting and gnawing.